A note from the Ministry of Health signed by the director of prevention Francesco Vaia was sent to the Health Department of Sardinia and to those of all the other Regions to report the raising of the alert (to level 3) for the possible spread of Fentanyl in Italy.

The alarm was raised by the National Rapid Alert System for Drugs, coordinated by the Department for Anti-Drug Policies, after Fentanyl was confirmed as a cutting substance in a dose of heroin seized a few weeks ago in the Perugia area. This is the first official confirmation of the presence of Fentanyl in Italy.

«After an on-site colorimetric test, the sample was subsequently analyzed by the Forensic Medicine Laboratory. Analytical results received on April 24, 2024 identified fentanyl (5%), heroin (50%), codeine (30%) and diazepam (15%) in the sample,” the document reads.

But what is it? «Fentanyl – we read on the “Antidroga” website of the Ministry of the Interior – is an analgesic with a potency at least 80 times greater than that of morphine. Fentanyl and its derivatives are used as anesthetics and analgesics in both medicine and veterinary medicine (Carfentanyl). Its molecule and its derivatives are subject to international control as are highly potentiated non-pharmaceutical derivatives, such as 3-methylFentanyl, illicitly synthesized and sold as “synthetic heroin” or mixed with heroin.”

According to data from the Central Directorate for Anti-drug Services of the Department of Public Security, from 2018 to 2023, 123 grams and 28 tablets of Fentanyl were seized in Italy. The synthetic opioid was also found in 41 other packaging.

Now the ministry's warning has also been sent to Sardinia, where the new and fearsome drug, widespread in the United States, is unfortunately not unknown. On the contrary. Last year, Cagliari was the city which, out of 19 at a national level, recorded the highest "mass load" figure of Fentanyl and Mefredone in its sewers.